The population of the town is now 72,000. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the Hanseatic League, which then monopolized the commerce of Northern Europe, held absolute sway here in Bergen, and the quaint Tydskebryggen (German quay) was their trading quarters. Near by the fortified tower of Rosenkranz was built to hold the Hanseatic quarter in check. It adjoins Haakonshal, the ancient palace of King Haakon Haakonson, who died in 1263.
This is the most ancient part of the town, although it is at present undergoing a change. Tydskebryggen is being modernized; its old-world character is fast disappearing.
Close by is St. Maria Kirken, a quaint twelfth-century church, formerly in possession of the Hanseatic League.
Triangelen (the fish-market quay) is interesting on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, where a fleet of small fishing-boats is moored alongside, lively and witty bargaining going on between buyer and seller which is highly amusing to witness. Bergen is in many respects a most interesting town, the ancient rubbing shoulders with the modern—the electric tram-car with the carrier's cart and "kariol"; the slender wood-framed, sack-covered booth with the gaily-painted kiosk; and the latest fashions from London and Paris with the divers picturesque costumes of fisherfolk and farmer, "striler" and "bönder." Handsome stone-built shops stand cheek by jowl with the low red-tiled wooden ones, no two alike, in every variety of size and colour, relieving the monotony of the narrow and crooked streets.
The climate of Bergen is exceedingly mild and humid, not unlike that of the west coast of Scotland, and the numerous shops where umbrellas and rain-coats are displayed for sale give some indication of the prevailing weather, although I have known it to be fine there for several days together. But this not being in the nature of a guide-book—"Baedeker," "Beyer," and "Bennett" supply all the information one necessarily requires, and much more than I have space to admit here—we must pass on to the chief subject of the book, and enter the fjords, taking first the Hardanger Fjord.
This beautiful arm of the sea is second in regard to length, the Sogne Fjord being the longest; but what it lacks in this respect is more than balanced by the charm of the scenery and the greater area of land under cultivation—orchards gay with blossom, and well-trimmed farms with brightly-painted wooden houses, red, yellow, or white, perched high on the mountain's flank, or nestling nearer the fjord margin. This beautiful district of Hardanger has been the theme of poet and painter for generations.
The Hardanger costume
The Hardanger women are mostly of fair complexion, with blue eyes, and their costume is the most picturesque of any in the country. It consists of a bright red or green bodice, gay with beads in front, clean white linen sleeves, a large white head-covering ("skaut"), blue skirt trimmed with coloured braid, and a belt of beads with an old silver filigree clasp. The unmarried wear the hair hanging in two long plaits down the back, and for headgear a small white cotton shawl tied under the chin in place of the more elaborate "skaut" of the married.
It is an interesting sight to witness on Sunday mornings the well-filled boats coming from all parts of the fjord parish, men and girls alike rowing their graceful boats to church. On landing, they arrange each other's toilet on the beach, and when inside the sacred edifice, the women and girls sit on one side of the centre aisle and the men on the other.
The service is Lutheran, and there is much singing of hymns or "psalmer" in a leisurely way while sitting. The farmer's dog is also quite a "regular attender," but he is usually well-behaved, and no one appears to take the slightest notice of him unless he happens to pick a quarrel with another of his species.